Terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram use rape as a weapon of war. Women and girls around the world are forced to carry the children of the terrorists who raped them.

But U.S. foreign aid currently can’t be used to help these women, instead they are forced into horrible choices: carry to term a traumatic or life-threatening pregnancy or risk their lives with a back-alley abortion. We thank our Senator Shaheen for her continued leadership on this issue to provide reproductive healthcare options for some of our world’s most vulnerable populations.

ISIS is the most serious foreign threat our next president will face, and our next president will have the power to fix this deadly policy error when he or she arrives at the White House. Secretary Clinton is on record with her support, it is now time to hear from the other candidates.

I have joined with numerous New Hampshire community leaders and our voting supporters to urge the candidates and our national leadership to no longer be bystanders to such gross violations of the human dignity of these women and girls today.

Terie Norelli

Portsmouth, NH

Terie Norelli is a Democratic former former Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives